From behind the dragon... hope he doesn't catch you looking over his shoulder!

Actually asian dragons are typically good creatures, gods of water, with little in common with their more demonic western cousins, so if he did catch you behind him... well, still might not want to risk it!

This was taken at a small local shrine called Shiratori Shrine (白鳥神, Shiratori Jinja). It's popular with the locals, but not with many others, so there is often no one here, which makes it very peaceful and nice.

Every shrine has this area, called the temizuya (手水舎) which is where visitors are suppose to wash their hands, mouth, and feet. In practice most people wear shoes outside these days so almost no one washes their feet, and many people don't rinse their mouth anymore, but everyone washes their hands.

Most temizuya are guarded by dragons. He doubles as a water spout; fresh water to fill the washing area will be pouring from his mouth. Some use other animals and some don't even bother with the animal and just have an undecorated water spout, but the dragon is the most common one to see.

	David LaSpina is an American photographer and translator lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time and searching for the perfect haiku.